Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ Is The Perfect Mindfulness Anthem. Yes, Really!
Unconventional as it may seem, Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' resonates with the principles of mindfulness. The lyrics, often overlooked, carry a profound message about living in the moment and embracing the present. Let's delve into this surprising anthem of mindfulness.
March Mindfulness is Mashable’s series that examines the intersection of meditation practice and technology.
Not many Buddhist scholars cite the work of one Marshall Mathers, esq., better known as Eminem
- But that’s what happens in Buddha or Bust, a bestselling 2006 book by veteran journalist Perry Garfinkel about a life-changing trip to Asia to interview the Dalai Llama and other Buddhist luminaries
- In the book, Garfinko gets the assignment from National Geographic in his 50s, right as scoliosis and a degenerative disk give him back pain so crippling he can barely crawl to the bathroom
- He discovers the movie 8 Mile and its iconic hit single, “Lose Yourself,” and is inspired by how much it moves him and motivates him to do the necessary PT – and how much the lyrics connected to his story
- “At first I listened purely for the motivation
- I can do anything I set my mind to,” but then the lyrics began to speak to me from another place. It sounded to me like the Buddhist practice of mindfulness.”
It isn’t ‘get lost,’ it’s ‘lose your ego.’
The only proven way to escape that angel and devil on the shoulder is to lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it
- Pay deep and persistent attention to it, and you enter a very special state of mind, one of absolute awareness and knowledge., a.k.a. mindfulness.
Pay attention. Don’t judge.
Take inventory of your body pre-rap battle, noting how everything feels
- Inner turmoil will make its presence known, no matter how hard you try to cover it up
- Emotional state does not match physical composure, so embrace the turmoil
The inner voices of past and future are always there
Eminem perfectly replicates how we get our past embarrassment and future worries tangled up in our heads
- He dwells on his abject failure and how shitty his trailer park life is, but then, when his “soul’s escaping” to a future fantasy of superstardom, anxiety meets him there too